Page 3 of One Night with the Mountain Man

“Who the hell are you?” My grip on the blanket tightened. Even though I held it snug around my shoulders, I felt exposed. Like he could see right through the fabric. It was stupid of me to head into the woods in nothing but my underwear and a blanket. I tried to force myself to turn back, but his gaze pinned me in place.

He leaned the axe against the woodpile and took a few steps in my direction. Instinctively, I took a few steps back. I could sense the raw power rolling off him.

“My name’s Samuel. I found you in the woods last night. Do you remember anything?”

The bottom of my stomach dropped out under his scrutiny. I racked my brain, trying to remember anything from the day before. Shards of memories pierced through the fogginess. I put my hand to my temple and swayed.

“Easy.” His hand wrapped around my elbow before I noticed he’d moved. “You’ve been through a lot.”

“My ankle…” It throbbed. I must have rolled it while I was hiking. “I was hiking. With my sister. In the woods.”

He nodded. “Are you staying at the resort?”

I blinked. The resort? A vision of my mom sitting on the porch of the cabin we’d rented the last summer she’d been with us hovered just out of reach.

“Do you know your name?” His eyebrows drew down as he studied me.

“Adelaide,” I mumbled. “Adelaide Frost.”

“Good. I’m sure someone’s looking for you. A husband? Family member?”

“My sister. She’s getting married at the resort.” Everything came back to me in an instant. The hike. Getting separated from the group. Reaching a split in the path and having to choose which way to go. Getting swept away in the current when I lost my footing at the edge of the creek. I glanced up at him, not sure what to make about the way my stomach clenched when his eyes met mine.

“Your sister?”

“My sister, Jules. I’ve got to get back. Her rehearsal dinner is tomorrow.” I turned to go back to the cabin, intent on finding my clothes and my phone.

“It’s no use. The storm took out the bridge, and there’s no way to cross the creek until the water level goes down.” He sounded as resigned as I felt.

“My phone…”

“No signal.” He reached out to snag his shirt from where he’d hung it over a tree limb. As she shrugged it on over his huge shoulders, he shook his head. “Looks like for the time being we’re stuck together, Adelaide.”

4

SAMUEL

Adelaide Frost. Her name played through my head over and over as I searched through my dresser for something that wouldn’t swim on her. If she was staying at the resort to attend a wedding, her sister had to be Julia Frost. The same Julia Frost whose name was printed on the wedding invitation my brother sent me. The wedding he’d asked me to stand next to him and be his best man.

I’d received the invitation the last time I’d checked my mailbox in town. The thick, creamy stationary stood out among the junk mail. Based on the messages scrawled across the envelope, it had been forwarded from the last address I’d given him. Tyson had tried to track me down over the years since we’d both left the military, but I didn’t want to be found.

Even though he didn’t agree with my decision, he respected it. I checked in with him once or twice a year so he could let our foster mom and other brothers know I was still breathing. I couldn’t believe they still cared. After what I’d done, I didn’t deserve their concern. Hell, I didn’t deserve to be alive.

The universe sure liked to play cruel jokes. That’s why I needed to get Adelaide back to her family as quickly as possible. Before she figured out who I was and what kind of connection I had to her future brother-in-law.

“Where are my clothes?” She sat in the corner of my sectional sofa, her foot propped up on the ottoman. Lucky curled up next to her, his head resting in her lap.

“You were soaked through last night. I didn’t want you to catch a chill, so I removed your clothing and wrapped you up in a blanket to get your body temperature regulated. Thanks to this weather, I haven’t been able to hang your things out to dry yet.”

She didn’t have a reason to trust me, and I didn’t want to scare her. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d given a damn about how someone else felt about me. That line of thinking caught me off guard, and off guard wasn’t a place I was used to spending much time. The sooner I could get her back to where she belonged, the better off both of us would be.

“Are you hungry?” I’d set some homemade chili on the stove to simmer before I went out to chop wood this morning. The rich scent of cumin and peppers made my stomach rumble.

“I don’t want to put you out any more than I already have.” The resignation in her tone told me she wasn’t used to asking for help.

“It’s no trouble at all. Let me get you a bowl, then I’ll put some fresh ice on your ankle.” I pulled a tray out from a cabinet and loaded it with a bowl of chili, the last of my crackers, and a fresh glass of water. At the last second, I folded a napkin and slid it under the spoon. If I hadn’t been so worried about her figuring out who I was, I would have laughed at myself. Who the fuck was I trying to impress? I set it down on the cushion next to her and waved Lucky away.

“Thank you. Any idea when I might be able to get out of here? The wedding’s on Saturday. My sister is probably worried about me.”

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